And Never the Twain Shall Meet
by Of Stories Told
Summary: Of love loss, and the ruins of two souls hereafter. A small tale of a lonely fairy and a boy who wished to grow up but never could.


**_A/N: _**_This is just an odd little one shot I did for a writing challenge on love and the loss of it, i'll explain the challenge more should anyone become confused with the tale but for now I hope you all dearly enjoy it._

_Also on a side note I thought I should mention that while it is love, the love isn't acted upon during the tale._

_And now…_

_Onwards._

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**_Disclaimer: _**_Characters not mine._

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Love… is a peculiar thing really.

She had been around since before the wind knew of the laughter of children, of their innocent sound that so reminded her of warm summer days surrounded only by the scent of roses.

She had been around for such a time, that a number for her age could not exist. Yet still was her time here shorter then when the first stars began to appear on her odd little realm; their brilliant lights seeming to glimmer in the darkest of nights, as if to tease her with the untold knowledge of countless worlds that existed just beyond her reach.

Her people were once a gentle and peaceful race. They moved around much like wraiths, with only the slight glimmer of the ethereal dust upon their fair skin to give away what manner of being they truly were.

She could still remember even now the warm red petals touching her skin in a soothing manner as she would lay down for slumber. Sometimes, she could still hear the soft flutter of wings around her as her people danced on the darkest of nights in celebration, their wings shining with joy as their voices rang with merry tunes for the wonders life always held for them.

Yet now, all that she was filled with was an odd sort of emptiness, and for the first time in her existence, she could not help but feel truly alone.

They had all disappeared one day, long before the dark skinned men and woman invaded the lands, long before even the strange and cruel man with his metal limbs came to them.

They had left her alone in their world, as they traveled to lands she could only dream of. It had been a struggle to keep going, to live while knowing she was the last, and would always be the last.

It was because of this, and because of an unknown fear in her heart that she prayed to them, that she begged anything, and anyone, to make it so that no longer would she have to know the bitter taste of loneliness.

Never did she believe her pleas would be heard and answered.

Especially not by _him_.

Honestly, it had been so foolish of her to save him, to make him belong in her world.

But the cold nights had grown so dreary by then, so filled with loneliness and despair that to stay as she was, to continue on alone… she could not think of a crueler fate, and could not want such a harsh destiny.

And so… she gifted him with the stopping of time, and made the mortal no longer be a prisoner of the hours that consumed his kind.

No longer would he age, but would instead remain by her side.

Her faithful companion through the ages that would always continue on for the two alone.

He was such a small boy, in mortal terms at least. His windswept hair a dark brown with long eyelashes covering sun kissed skin. His clothes had been so ragged when she first laid eyes upon him that she could not help but wonder just from where he had journeyed from.

From what distance had his small form traveled until he finally reached her?

Before she realized the truth of it, she had already been filled with love for him, and when his brilliant blue eyes fluttered open, to show young eyes filled with curiosity and mischief…

Her love then only grew.

At first, the love had been platonic, she supposed. She had looked after him, as her mother had once done for her so many ages ago. She made sure he consumed only the freshest of flowers and fruits, and drank from only the cleanest of brooks.

She had clothed him in materials from the land, dark greens as to hide his form from any potential dangers.

Yet she spoiled him with a brilliant red feather, a feather that he cared for so dearly it made her wings flutter with joy as the furious beat of her heart seemed to fill her small form, making her blush in such a curious way that she could barely understand.

And then, once she had deemed him ready, once she was sure he would be safe and secure in her care; only then did she teach him to fly.

Even now, as the darkness slowly fills her, does that moment remain her happiest memory.

Wide innocent eyes filled with wonder and glee as they took in the deep blue sea that surrounded their world. He had laughed so freely, with such mirth and life, that before she knew it; she had fallen deeply in love.

It would always remain her greatest mistake.

He was but a childe in the eyes of mortals, and in their world, a childe he would always remain. He would never see her as anything else, never be able to comprehend all that she felt for him.

She had tried to push those dark thoughts away, and valiantly buried them deep in her heart. After all, he may never see the love that she so held for him, but that did not mean she would ever abandon him because of it.

She could never leave her littler Peter.

Even now, it amazes her how naïve she once was.

She supposed, he had been lonely, for in the way she had once begged to her long gone brothers and sisters, so too did he beg. He wished for friends, for other children in which to have adventures with. He too wished for companionship.

And so too; did they come.

They were all such marvelous and silly boys. Instead of dressing as her Peter did, they preferred to wear costumes of different animals. Each child more mischievous then the last, yet each so utterly endearing to her.

She loved them, loved them all along with the marvelous adventures they would always have. She loved caring for them and watching over the children as they slumbered, their young minds deep within Morpheus's realm as gentle dreams flashed behind closed lids.

But she never did come to love them more then she loved her Peter.

It was then that she allowed herself to become content, to believe that all was well; that all would always remain as it was now.

For as long as she could stay by his side, for as long as they may be with the other; there could truly exist nothing else for her to wish for.

Oh… even after so many centuries, after so many long and grueling years of life.

Did she still remain so naïve.

Just as her people had once done to her, did he too disappear from her loving watch one day.

She had grown devastated.

Tears, tears that her kind had never cried, were not able to cry had escaped from her iridescent lids. As the pure liquid fell upon her glimmering cheeks, they transform into small crystals. Her crystal tears fell upon the soft earth as she cried for her Peter; they glowed with such a beautiful yet heartbreaking aura; as if to show all her despair at losing the only one who would ever hold claim of her heart.

She believed him gone then, and wondered if her blessed boy would ever appear before her again.

After what felt like eons, in which none of her beloved children could ease her suffering did he return.

Yet… he was not alone, he had greeted her with a bashful smile as he always did, yet her eyes could not see him, could not see the indescribable glimmer of something more that seemed to shine within that deep blue.

Instead, all she could see was his companion, a young and beautiful mortal girl.

The childe held the fairest of skin, and had such kind and warm brown eyes.

For the first time in her existence, had rage and jealousy filled her.

This silly mortal girl would be able to claim what she so desired, what she had always wished for. The foolish lass would be able to ensnare her Peter's heart with such loving innocence that it made the Fae feel ill.

It was then, that Tinkerbelle realized, if only just; how much she despised her own existence.

She was but a small thing, barely the size of her boy's calloused hand, happily worn from his many adventures.

And… anything more… she could never be.

She would never miraculously grow; never would she be able to kiss his chapped lips, to taste the scent of sea that always clung to his form. Her boy would never see her as anything more then a caregiver.

As had become common to her, her heart began to crumble. Her small being unable to withstand the sorrow of an unrequited love.

The girl left soon after she arrived, but the damage had already been done.

Her boy now could always be found looking to the countless stars. Soft sighs of love lost would escape from his lips as his clear blue eyes became murky with unknown emotions.

She tried countless things to cheer him up; she tried so desperately to make him see her; to only think of her.

It never worked.

And… It never would.

Her kind were but a small race, they once wore their single emotions proudly upon their sleeves. Yet there was only so much emotion they could feel in their long life, so fragile their forms truly were.

And yet… her heart now would beat differently then those that came before. She had felt so much, yet could only do so little.

And so… without anyone ever noticing the dulling of her wings, or how her special dust seemed to loose it's once brilliant sheen.

She fell.

And broke in a way that could never be undone, could never again be repaired.

Her small heart seemed to stop beating in her chest, and her soft blue eyes soon dulled.

It was a death, yet not all the same.

Air still filled her lungs; she still could move and wander through the realm, yet no longer was she truly alive.

Just like her boy's mischievous shadow, she was now but a fragment of who she once was.

It was during this half-death, as she slowly began to feel herself fade; that an invitation arrived.

It promised a world without her boy, without the pain she had come to endure and expect.

It was a clever little thing really, a dark promise disguised as a brilliant hope.

And like a man desperate for water, she reached for it with her whole being.

Not once did her mind wonder to her boy, her Peter.

Not once did she think of the child whose brilliant blue eyes used to look at her with such adoration and love.

Not once did she remember her happiest memory.

As she left the land that had once been her home, as she left the great world that used to exist for her and her people; that held her true love...

Did her being now change.

She arrived quickly in a new realm, her once warm eyes now cold and haunting, yet still her pink petal soft lips held an all too familiar smirk.

She was different now, she supposed.

Things were different.

She ignored how her fairy dust, once filled with innocence and happiness was slowly poisoning her mind.

She ignored the hollow feeling that filled her to her very soul.

Instead she drank many a drink and danced with men who existed only in the pages of far off tales.

As the madness crept ever closer, so too did familiar bright blue eyes move ever farther; until it was all but a distant memory.

And finally, did her once pure self, truly become a shadow.

Finally, did her beating her become stone; and crumbled.

And yet… through it all…

She laughed.

While her soul cried.

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A young boy watched the ocean with a cold and blank stare. The once calming water seemed to call for him. It asked him to wander into their depths, to finally find his so wanted respite.

He scowled angrily and looked away from the tempting promise. Instead a frown flittered across his lips as the cold night wind rustled his hair in an almost uncaring gesture.

How long had it been now since she had left him?

How long had it been since he last truly saw her magnificent self?

The one thing that had always remained constant in his turbulent world had vanished, and he feared he may never again lay his eyes on his little love.

It was an impossible thing really.

He knew it would never work.

He was but a mortal childe; he could never bring her the happiness she so rightly deserved.

Her gossamer wings, once so vibrant and brilliant, could not be cared for by his callous human hands.

He could never kiss her as he wished to; he could never love her or hold her in his arms as he had spent countless nights dreaming of.

He had begged the stars, so long ago, to allow him to be with her; to be allowed to truly love her; and yet all his pleas had gone unanswered.

His form was of that of a youth, and would always remain so, thus making their love impossible.

He had valiantly tried to find others instead, yet it was simply not the same, for none could take the place of his marvelous Bell. None could so ensnare and capture his heart as she once did.

Yet now… she was gone.

And he was alone.

He tried not to pay any mind to his heart as it broke from within him; he tried to ignore the childish tears that burned their paths through his skin, the salty liquid barley making a sound as they fell to the ocean below him.

And he tried to ignore how much he truly missed her.

A man, trapped forever as a boy.

A woman, trapped in a form that is impossible to love.

Their love could never be, was never meant to be.

And yet, still did both their hearts cry against this injustice, still did their hearts want the other.

And oh did their souls despair the loss.

Love… would always be such a peculiar thing, for we may never pick whom it is our hearts so chooses, but the agony that may come from it, will still always follow close behind.

As the two slowly drifted away from the other; never knowing their feelings were returned, as they crumbled and became only a fragment of their former selves, did the red string of fate that once tied them so closely together; finally snap, and disappeared into the unforgiving wind.

Thus, did the heavens weep for the lost of a once great and powerful love.

Thus, did the fates cry against what should have been, yet could not be.

_"And never the twain shall meet."*_

And so; paradise was lost, with a final crystal tear and the anguished cry of two shattered souls.

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**_A/N: _**_The contest was to write a tale in which one of the fairy tale creatures leave and their love is left to lament on the loss. It's a bittersweet pairing I think given that there is no way for their love to be realized but no matter how hard they try, the feelings are not easily erased. I hope you have all enjoyed this sad tale even if it is terrible bitter._

_Also the one quote in there is from I believe a book? Not too sure sadly…_

_Also please do leave a review if you did, they make me smile so when I hear the thoughts of others on my tales._

_Thank you._

_Till next time…_


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